


Four Is Better Than None

by Crazy_Abz_weebsan



Series: Four Elements As One [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Blind Hiccup, Crossover, Earthbender Hiccup, Firebender Merida, Healer Rapunzel, Multiple Crossovers, Sassy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Waterbender Jack, Waterbender Rapunzel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:54:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26478301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazy_Abz_weebsan/pseuds/Crazy_Abz_weebsan
Summary: Summary; Read the Prologue on First Page.Basically An Avatar Au with The Big Four as the main characters, travelling the world and kicking butt.The story isn’t an exact copy of the series, therefore won’t follow the main story line of the series but will contain several similar parts such as the setting, the war against the Fire Nation, the animals and others.Also, NOTICE: this work is both time-consuming and requires a lot of thought and research since it is going to be a long series filled with many cultures, backgrounds, fights etc... which would clash with my daily busy life at the moment therefore it will be slowly updated, depending entirely on my motivation and energy. Plus do not hesitate to comment and point out errors. I’m a human being so I make mistakes....easilyThank you for understanding and I hope you'll enjoy reading.
Series: Four Elements As One [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1924918
Kudos: 8





	1. Prologue

Fire, Air, Water and Earth.

These are the four elements in which the world is balanced on. Through that balance originates peace and unity throughout the four nations of Fire, Earth, Water and Air. Even though one may not see it at first glance, all of the nations are connected. One cannot simply remain stable without the other thus creating a shift in the world’s balance......

....And that is what’s happening now.

A disturbance in the balance was created thanks to the ongoing war of pain and strife. A war started when the Fire Nation initiated their first attack on the peaceful Air Nomads to acquire the high ground. Alas, the greed for power did not stop there.

They continued invading and taking over thousands of villages and towns of other nations, striking fear and bringing sorrow into innocent hearts of their victims. Screams of anguish and sadness echoed throughout the lands as brave yells and loud battle cries responded.

As of all of this was occurring, many wondered,

Where was the Avatar?

The human embodiment of light and peace, who has the power to keep balance among the four nations of the world through the incredible ability of bending the four elements?

Avatar Manny?

Shattering news spread that Avatar Manny vanished before the Great War started. Certain people immediately began to ponder the idea that Avatar was dead whilst others still hoped on their lingering belief that he was still out there.

The news still didn’t crush hope fully as everyone knew that the Avatar Spirit upon death causes the Avatar to reincarnate according to the cyclic order; water, earth, fire and air.

Since Avatar Manny was a water-bender, the next Avatar should be reincarnated as an Earth-bender.

The Fire Nation knew this since they carried out several attempts to take over the Earth Nation especially the large cities. Neither plans succeeded due to the Earth’s Nations fortified and defensive structures made out of the strong earth but unfortunately, that did not stop the enemy from taking over small towns and villages of the Earth Nation. Every Earth-bender spotted in those areas was captured as a prisoner, never to be seen again.

The Earth Nation thought they had an advantage over their enemy since they could easily search for the Avatar in their own territory but to their astonishment, after a lot of search parties, the Avatar wasn’t found which was thought to be impossible.

This created an uproar as people, without a second thought, concluded that the Avatar was already captured or... to their regretful idea, eliminated. The Avatar was the people’s only hope for winning the accursed war however as the years passed, that hope diminished bit by bit thanks to the overwhelming pain and terror.

Nonetheless, four people took matters into their own hands. These were the same four comrades that were Avatar Manny’s comrades, calling themselves the Guardians. Each one of them were leading the Rebellion against the Fire Nation from different points of the world to honor their missing friend’s wishes, to spread hope and peace.

Fifteen years passed, the Rebellion hasn’t gotten close in defeating the resilient Fire Nation whilst the enemy was advancing. Numbers of soldiers in the Rebellion dwindled as number of deaths and prisoners captured rose. The Rebellion’s attacks were being predicted and outmatched and few survivors came back from the battle.

How long can they keep this up?

Will they manage change things before the Fire Nation overwhelms them?

And how the heck four teenagers who got involved in this, made a difference?


	2. Chapter 1: The Risky Choice

_I looked at the sky in wonder as something out of the ordinary began to fall. I wasn’t the only who was mesmerized by it since all of the people of the tribe watched the black snow landing onto the white surface. Little did we know that the captivating snow was the calm before the black clouds came._

_Screams of pain, anger and fear resonated throughout the tribe. The roaring blazing fire spread everywhere along with the unpleasant smell of burnt flesh. The noxious smokey fumes inhaled, itched my lungs as I started to lose my breath. In the dark atmosphere of ash and soot, I stumbled in the grey bumpy snow, with eyes sealed shut by the hot scorching flames. With my last breathes despite the constant coughing and aching, I managed to desperately cry out,_

_“Daddy! Daddy! Where are you, Daddy?”_

_...before everything went pitch black._

_All I could subconsciously remember after that was the feeling of my father’s warm strong hands as he carried me safely onto a transportation of wood and hearing my father’s soft voice whispering into my ear, for the last time._

_“Rapunzel ... remember that the darkest nights will always end because of the sun that rises to light the day.....”_

_To my frustration, there were more words but his voice became fainter and fainter while I was slowly drifting away._

_In the end, darkness took over the whole Southern Water-Tribe as tears from watery eyes fell._

* * *

Large green eyes opened as the light of the morning shone through the large tent.

**_It was just another bad dream._ **

Taking that thought aside, a small yawn escaped her mouth while she lifted herself up off the bed, to get ready for the day. Firstly, she dressed herself up in a light purple dress, which was then covered by a darker shade of purple kimono-like tunic that was lined with a white trim. On the lower corner of the white trim, the Water-Tribe emblem was displayed, a circle comprised of a waning crescent moon and three wavy horizontal lines. Furthermore, she wore fur trimmed purple leggings underneath along with brown boots, having a lining of white fur at the top.

Secondly, she began brushing her unusual long golden blonde hair. To her misfortune, this daily procedure really takes a lot of time to brush it all but the girl always managed thanks to her unwavering patience and years of experience. Her hair was successfully braided despite complications, except for two locks of hair, each from one side of the head, which are fastened with clips on the back of her head. These were hanging down more loosely than the rest of her hair.

Last but not least, she wore around her neck a purple choker with a light yellow hand-crafted jewel bearing the symbol of the sun. The meaning of the crest of the trinket had not yet been discovered but it was still worn everyday by the girl since it was the only remembrance of her mother.

As everything was done, the blonde walked towards the metal basin, filled with water to the brim, standing on a wooden table. To check herself, her green eyes gazed at her reflection at the surface of the water. The surprising thought of how much she’d grown over the last seven years ever since............she moved into the Northern Water-Tribe.......came to mind.

_**Has it really been that long?** _

She closed her saddened eyes closed and took a deep breath, repeating her father’s words,

“The darkest nights will always end because of the sun that rises to light the day.”

In the clear water, the reflection shimmered into Rapunzel Corona with focused green eyes filled with determination and hope.

At that moment, her focus was broken as a familiar male voice yelled,

“Punzie! Hurry it up before I come in and pelt you with snow!”

The female couldn’t help but give a bright smile as she exited the room enthusiastically, meeting her childhood friend who was waiting outside her room.

“Jack, you know what happened last time you did that.” Rapunzel reminded.

The male teenager, who was of the same age, named Jack was grinning, showing his teeth that ‘sparkled like snow’ (according to the blonde). His striking blue eyes had a glint of mischief in them when he began to remember...

On a side note, just like Rapunzel’s unnatural golden blonde hair, Jack’s hair was strangely white as snow along with his pale skin. This was one of the main reasons why there were such good friends as they shared the fact that both of them exhibit features which are considered abnormal in both Water-Tribes.

“Oh yeah. The old man wasn’t too happy about that.” He recalled.

Rapunzel noted something different about her friend so she took a closer look.

Surprisedly, Jack was fully dressed for the day. Usually, he lazily puts on his clothes after breakfast that is when their caretaker leaves the tent for work.

His clothing attire usually consists of a short boxy and less form fitting dark blue kimono-like tunic which had short sleeves, as well as, baggy lighter blue fur trimmed breeches and a pair of blue two-finger gloves that extended up to his upper arm. The area around his forearms were covered and wrapped tightly with long strips of cotton cloth. Lastly, the absence of his brown boots, exposing his bare white feet hence the reason why he dresses himself late due to their over protective guardian.The blonde girl couldn’t help but giggle at the memory that involved a game of cat and mouse which immediately ended when the swords were pulled out.

To her shock, the boots were worn. She rubbed her widened eyes and blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating.

“Jack, are you ok?” The female asked with worry.

He took notice of the concerning tone of her friend and became confused, “What brought this on?”

He followed his friend’s gaze as it fell onto the wretched boots on his feet and muffled with defeat,

“North woke me up early and made me dress up fully.”

Bewildered by their caretaker’s sudden behavior, Rapunzel was about to question, “Why would he....”

But was interrupted by the man himself,

“Jack! Rapunzel! Food’z ready!”

“Looks like we’re about to find out.” The male pointed out.

Both teenagers got seated on the carpets made out of skin of furry animals. At first, these used to make the blonde very uncomfortable but with extreme convincing, she eventually didn’t think twice about them.

A tall buff and rotund man with bright blue eyes, thick black eyebrows and a long white beard and mustache, who was already dressed in his heavy red clothing, came into the room holding onto a small hot cauldron.

“Today’s special will be.....

TATERATA!

SEAWEED STEW!”

He declared, removing the lid.

The savory aroma of the stew was released, making both teenagers’ mouth water as they watched the stew being poured into their bowls, respectively.

“Dig in.” The older man advised when he finished.

They didn’t need to be told twice especially when it concerned with their favourite food as both were about to take in the first spoon but then hesitated.

The rotund man noticed the skeptical gazes of blue and green from the pair. At their looks, North felt himself more nervous than he originally was.

Recollection of the fact that their caretaker usually prepares their favorite stew when certain occasions arise, usually celebrations or......

“So what’s the occasion?” Jack asked as he eyed North with suspicion.

The elder sighed in defeat, realizing the fact that these teenagers were more perceptive than they look and there was no way he could convince them with white lies.

North took a seat, facing bothteenagers he raised from when they were little children.

The thought of this saddened him, given to their current predicament, but there was regrettably no other choice especially with lesser known risks.

So he began directly with a simple statement,

“The Northern Water Tribe haz been compromised.”

“What?!”The teenagers responded simultaneously.

North instantly shushed them to quiet them down and continued with low tone,

“Certain members of the Resistance suspect that there are spiez within our midzt.”

Jack cursed, “Those dirty....”

“Jack.” North warned before the angry male could finish, not wanting Rapunzel to hear unpleasant words.

“How could they?! After what the Fire Nation has been doing, why on ice would they help them?!” The white haired teen ticked off.

“People tend to do unspeakable things when they’re afraid especially at the times of war.” North assumed.

The blonde couldn’t help but ask with worry, “So how are you’re going to find the spies?”

“We’re still not sure the number of spiez amongst us but with time and patience they will be discovered.” He reassured with a comforting smile. The elder didn’t want this to be the teen’s main worry so he continued,

“Moving on, there’z another important thing I have to discuss with you, involving a personal secret mission.’

At the word ‘mission’, Jack became enthusiastic, giving Rapunzel a glance for a brief second with light in his eyes, and turning his gaze back on North, questioning,

“Personal? You don’t mean...”

The elder confirmed by nodding. “I’m giving thiz mission behind the council’s backs since it’z way too grave to be interfered with by spiez.”

The female, still wary of the situation, pointed out,

“Won’t they suspect anything once we suddenly disappear?”

North complimented with energy,

“Very good point, Rapunzel! That is why......wait for it.....we’re going to deceive them by suggesting them another ‘mission’. A mission involving transporting you back to the South az a precaution, thanks to the spy situation, with Jack being your only bodyguard to minimize the attention from enemiez.”

The teenagers noted that it was a good plan until North added,

“The bad newz is that there iz a high probability that your status of being the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe will be discovered once you two dizappear.”

Rapunzel flinched, remembering the fact that she still was of royal blood therefore her well-being was always considered first priority in both Water Tribes. She was rarely seen by the people of the Southern Water Tribe, thanks to her father’s overprotective nature as she was always locked up inside. A near kidnapping incident and the death of her mother when she was born did not dim her father’s protective instinct, only enhanced it to a greater level. In conclusion, the only ones who knew of her status were Jack who she told and their rotund caretaker who was one of her father’s trusted friends. She was personally felt safe living with North and Jack, happily exploring the Northern Water Tribe with no one knowing her who she truly was. All her effort of keeping her status in the Northern Water Tribe a secret would all go to dust once she leaves. This fact didn’t reassure the blonde along with the white haired teen who was looking at his friend with concern.

None of them wantEd the other to be in any danger.

Their caretaker reassured, “Don’t worry. With the zecret personal mission I’m giving you, will lead you somewhere different and most importantly, far, misleading the spiez and sending them on a wild goose chase.....but only if you BOTH accept it.”

Their guardian’s gaze was more focused on Rapunzel rather than Jack since he was well aware of the boy’s answer. As for the girl, this will definitely be a food for thought for her hence why he informed,

“You have till dawn to provide me an answer once I’ll return. Time iz of essence so we should use while we still can.”

The rotund man got up and was about to leave to give them privacy until Jack asked curiously,

“Wait, what would happen if we both decline?”

He stopped on his way, to answer logically,

“Then my assumption is that in the future, Rapunzel will carry out the fake mission for real and most likely you both will be separated as Jack stays here while Rapunzel leaves under the council’s orders.”

With that as his last statement, he exited the tent, leaving the two teenagers alone in a deafening silence with a lot to think about. The tension in the air thickening as the stew in their bowls remained untouched while both teenagers avoided each other’s gazes and didn’t utter a word. This kept going for several seconds until both of them felt uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere, so they faced each other and broke the ice by asking simultaneously,

“Rapunzel, what do you think we should do?”

“Jack, what do you think we should do?”

Realisation hit them like a brick, on whatjust happened as they started laughing, lightening the mood. With the lightened tension, the male felt no worry to explain himself first so he began,

“You know, all my life ever since I got here, I always wanted to become part of the Resistance.”

Rapunzel giggled as she reminded, “Yeah, I can certainly ask Phil to confirm that. He was always the person who catches you every time you mischievously follow Mr. North to sneak into one of his meetings.”

“Correction, he’s not a person. He’s a full fledged yeti.” Jack corrected.

The blonde rolled her eyes, recalling the fact that if she argued even further, she’ll receive a full on lecture from her best friend about the ridiculous theory he developed, concerning the hairy muscular bodyguard being either a yeti secretly disguised as a man or a descendant of a yeti and so on and on.

“Anyway, my point is.....my answer is definitely clear especially when it comes to protecting my precious people.” Jack finished.

The statement made the girl smile.

She wasn’t surprised of Jack’s sudden decision. Heck, he was preparing his entire life for this with his personal and private training. She didn’t give him a hint of doubt in accomplishing the secret mission and protecting her since Jack was no amateur when it comes to water bending. Although, he wasn’t a master at it, yet.

On the other hand, Jack was totally a master on ‘ice bending’, being a one of a kind water-bending style he personally created and defined. A style that instantly creates instant ice and frost instead of cooling the water blended. A unique style which Jack spent most of his time and effort to practice and evolve on.

Rapunzel had full faith of Jack's potential and creativity on improving his new style since it came so natural for the male. The blonde had always watched from afar Jack's training with awe and amazement, silently admiring him, ever since he began training. His creations of ice and frost were always fascinating and definitely a sight for sore eye especially for the children in the tribe.

Throughout the years of being in the Northern Water Tribe, the white haired teen wasn't the only one who has been training. Being inspired by her friend's hard-work and spirit, at the moment Rapunzel discovered that she had an affinity for healing, she decided to take classes which the tribe offered. It was definitely something the blonde enjoyed, giving her full dedication and attention especially due to the fact that she loved learning new things, making new friends and helping people. 

Her commitment was certainly shown with the large stacks of books of different titles in her room. Eventually, she became an official healer of the tribe, achieving a title that no one would achieve at the female's age which is why she was considered a prodigy among her generation. Of course, through her medical training, both Jack and North gave her their unwavering full support, both being energetic and spirited without a minute to charge up.

Even-though she had all the experience and training, a part of her was considering that she was a liability to her friend since she was too fragile and helpless to handle the dangerous world as how her father and maids mostly used to tell her. She remembered the times from her childhood where she was always inside, not once allowed to go outside without a personal escort or sometimes for a very long time hence the reason why Rapunzel always dreamed to explore the outside world from top to bottom. She read books and studied maps about the world outside the pole. She watched and studied the stars afar, at a distance where she could not reach, wondering how much they spread throughout the world.

She never had a chance to explore it but now with the opportunity presented, she reconsidered,

"I'm going to take the mission."

Jack's shocked expression did not go unnoticed as he watched.

The determined green eyes shining on his best friend.

"The real mission." She confirmed.  
  
The white haired teen couldn't help but grin and brag,

"Well, in that case, Jack, the most awesome ice bender and water bender, will definitely protect you no matter what happens so you don't have to worry about your pretty face, your Highness"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes at her friend's tease and retorted,

"The only worry I have is a full fledged idiot hurting himself when he does something recklessly stupid like he always does. Good thing, I'm a healer who has healed every injury the idiot had."

"Hey! They're aren't stupid! They're fun!" Jack argued as he pouted. "Like ice skating."

"Not when you're travelling at high speed off a cliff." She reminded with crossed arms.

His response was sticking his tongue out while Rapunzel chuckled at her friend's typical childish antics.

She was internally glad that the white haired teen would accompany her on the mission. She would be out of place without him as she walks into a new world. He always had the ability to make things fun and cheer up the mood so the adventure is going to be worth the risk. On a side note, the blonde couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from her friend as she would become devastated. Her thoughts were interrupted,

"Hey Punzie, we should probably eat before this perfectly good stew turns cold." Jack pointed out.

"Oh right." Rapunzel realised, exiting her thoughts.

Both of them began to eat the stew with delight and excitement, discussing and wondering what they'll discover on their journey.

Little did they know that, 

.......the entire time......

...their caretaker was outside the tent, overhearing their conversation......

......which brought a genuine smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First Chapter Done.   
> I’m sorry for North’s accent. :/ I had no idea how to write it accurately like the movie so please use your imagination when reading his dialogue now and in the future.


End file.
